Sex Life of Fans

[robinpen]

Sexual goings-on at conventions are a natural adult proclivity and fans have their own special brands of play. At any regular science fiction convention there’ll be the guy with mild Aspergers looking on the white board for directions to the Furry “Scritch & Yiff” Party, the resident Leisure Suit Larry who tries to chat up every woman in the

Comments

[callistra]

This is a brilliant post.

[mlamprey]

Agreed.

[lyzbeth]

[robinpen]

Thanks. Welcome to draw attention to it or repost in part or in total. I think the education of people to the techniques abusers use is the key to increase safety.

[tikiwanderer]

At any regular science fiction convention there’ll be ...
Oh dear, I recognise both myself and James in that list... -grin- Though I have to say that it took over ten years of going to cons before I actually managed to get laid at one.

This is a great post. Very well put together, and reflective of long-term observation.

[robinpen]

Thanks. I tried not to describe anything I saw as a single incident or person but to follow typical traits. You know me well enough that much I've referenced is done by people I admire and have affection for and wish them the best of fun. Except the predators, of course.

[tikiwanderer]

That's what made the list so much fun. I saw myself, but also other people with the same traits that have appeared as each generation's come through - and I've seen them at cons too :-) It's so easy to think that what happens to you and the experiences you have are one-offs, and knowing that the same things can happen over and over again is both encouraging to modesty and humility, but also encouraging to safety. The thing of when something bad happens, it wasn't just because of you and what you did that time, it's part of a bigger picture that can repeat. I'm really not making much sense here.

[baby_elvis]

Well observed.

[robinpen]

I'm sure you have some good observations of your own. You are MY queen of fandom.

[txtriffidranch]

It's particularly funny that you bring this up right now. The Czarina and I first met via the Dallas Fantasy Fairs, a triannual SF/comic/pop culture convention that ran for nearly twenty years before it imploded in 1996. Because of our experiences with the Flimsy Fairs and other local conventions, we dropped out of that entire scene for nearly a decade. We've only come back to it in a very limited way because of our respective businesses (let's face it: in a dealer's room full of crappy sword replicas and chainmail bustiers, carnivorous plants stand out, and the financial return is worth it), and we've made a very firm point of otherwise staying out of the con scene. The sexual predators you mention are part of that reason